Avgolemono Recipe

Place chicken thighs, roughly chopped carrot, celery, and quartered onion in a large 4- to 6-quart pot. Add 10 cups water, bay leaf, peppercorns, and 2 tsp kosher salt.

Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, 25–30 minutes until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are soft.

Using tongs, transfer chicken to a cutting board and let cool slightly. Strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl or another pot, discarding solids. Measure and reserve 1 cup of the cooled broth in a heatproof cup for tempering the eggs (this must be cold or at least room temperature). Keep remaining hot broth in the pot on low heat.

Rinse the rice under cold water until water runs mostly clear. Add the rinsed rice to the pot with the hot strained broth and bring to a gentle simmer.

Simmer rice in the broth, uncovered, for 12–15 minutes (or until rice is tender), stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. If using orzo, check at 8–10 minutes.

While rice cooks, shred the cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces using two forks.

In a medium bowl, whisk the 3 whole eggs until smooth. Whisk in the 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice and lemon zest until combined.

Temper the eggs: slowly whisk about 1/4 cup of the reserved cold broth into the egg-lemon mixture to warm it slightly. Then, with a steady thin stream, continue whisking while adding the remaining reserved cold broth (total 1 cup). This step gently brings the eggs closer to soup temperature and prevents curdling.

Once rice is tender, reduce the heat under the pot to the lowest setting so the broth is hot but not simmering (no bubbles). Remove about 1 cup of hot broth from the pot into a measuring cup.

Very slowly add the hot cup of broth into the tempered egg-lemon mixture in a thin stream while whisking constantly. This slowly raises the temperature of the liaison so it can be incorporated without scrambling.

Pour the warmed liaison back into the pot with the hot broth and rice while stirring gently. Keep heat low — do not let the soup boil after adding the eggs. Cook on the lowest heat for 1–2 minutes, stirring, until soup slightly thickens and becomes silky.

Stir the shredded chicken into the soup to reheat for 1–2 minutes.

Add the baby spinach and chopped dill, stirring just until spinach wilts (about 1 minute). Taste and adjust seasoning with additional 1/2 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with an extra sprinkle of chopped dill and a little lemon zest if desired. Serve immediately; keep soup warm but not boiling to maintain the silky texture.